Employers should play safe when asked about a former employee’s job history.
Tell me about yourself? What are your strengths/weaknesses? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?….. Have you heard these before?
Today’s candidate are smarter and more prepared – so we need to be asking questions at interview to get to the “true” candidate. Candidates have long known how to dance around the standard interview questions – leaving you with an employee who is good on paper but practically not able to perform when you test them. You need to get to the employees who are honest about setbacks and willing to learn from their experience.
Here are some questions which may help you reveal a candidate’s true character:
What is the toughest feedback you’ve been given and how did you learn from it? A good employee is one that can take constructive criticism that’s difficult to hear and use it to grow professionally. If they can’t think of an occasion when they have received feedback – then they probably don’t take it and use it well.
What are people likely to misunderstand about you? You need employees who are able to understand how others see them. Work is not a popularity contest, but an employee who acknowledges the things that they do that push others’ buttons’ is likely to make the effort to be a team player. This is particularly important in small business where you need to be able to fit into the team.
How do you think this job will stretch your professional capabilities? When you ask a candidate about a weakness – they can use this to spin their answers, giving replies like, “sometimes I work too hard”. However, if you ask them about how a job will challenge comfort zones this will make candidates have to consider the skills they need to improve on and helps prepare them for inevitable setbacks.
In what areas have you improved the most in your career? Don’t let candidates shy away from showing their past mistakes – help them realise that they have come a long way and see they can always improve with support and guidance.
Employers: think carefully about your interview questions and keep a record for each candidate so you have objective evidence on why you choose a particular candidate when you need to give feedback to the unsuccessful candidate.
